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Ince Bemoans Crazy Minutes

Manager Reflects On 2-2 Draw At Bolton

Paul Ince bemoaned ‘three-and-a-half crazy minutes’ after Blackpool finished off their season with a 2-2 draw at Bolton.

Having raced into a two-goal lead at The Reebok Stadium, The Seasiders conceded twice in first-half added time to go in level at the interval.

“I’m disappointed because I thought the way we started the game, our football was outstanding. It could have been five in that first-half and then three-and-a-half crazy minutes left us leaving the field at 2-2,” Ince said.

“You’ve got to learn to close games sometimes. The board went up and we were trying to play it in the wrong areas. You’ve got to squeeze up and keep it tight to kill the game. If we’d have gone in 2-0 up at half-time then we’d have gone on to win by more, I felt.

“But we didn’t and they got a bit of a rollicking at half-time. In the second-half we dug in there and it was weird because one minute the crowd were down and the next they were cheering. It’s a shame that Bolton have missed out because Dougie is a nice guy and he’s done a fantastic job at Bolton in a short space of time.”

As nothing was riding on the result for Blackpool, the focus now turns to the summer and preparations for next season.

The futures of several players will now be discussed in the coming days, while certain lads in the Development Squad have already been informed.

“It’s never the best part of the job for a manager and on Friday I had to tell a few kids, which was probably the hardest thing for me. That was a nightmare and I don’t enjoy that side of it,” he admitted.

“It needs freshening up, if I’m being totally honest with you, although not a lot of it because when we play like that we’re a very good side. We need some new faces in and we need to get a good pre-season behind us.

“We’ve all managed to stick together and keep this club in The Championship. As a manager I want to move on from here now,” he added.